Greatest players ever from lesser former soviet hockey republics?

[Pominville Knows]

Hi. I thought it would be best to put this here. I'm interested in players that may have played for the Soviet national teams from lesser hockey countries like Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. And if noone did, the best player from those countries that has played professional hockey.

And while i am at it, my knowledge of your countries are better but would it be correct that Ukraines best player ever was Zhitnik, Belarus Salei, Latvia Balderis, Lithuania Zubrus and Kazakhstan Antropov?

Looking forward to some insight.

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[ficohok*]

Hi. I thought it would be best to put this here. I'm interested in players that may have played for the Soviet national teams from lesser hockey countries like Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. And if noone did, the best player from those countries that has played professional hockey.

And while i am at it, my knowledge of your countries are better but would it be correct that Ukraines best player ever was Zhitnik, Belarus Salei, Latvia Balderis, Lithuania Zubrus and Kazakhstan Antropov?

Looking forward to some insight.

After CCCP collapsed he opted to play for Russia, so he can't be counted as "Ukrainian". Best Ukrainian (statistically in NHL) is Dmitri Khristich.

For Kazakhstan my choice would be E.Koreshkov over Antropov.

 

[ozo]

For Kazakhstan my choice would be E.Koreshkov over Antropov.

He would be a number two behind Boris Alexandrov.

 

[Uncle Rotter]

After CCCP collapsed he opted to play for Russia, so he can't be counted as "Ukrainian".

Developed in the Ukraine though.

 

[ficohok*]

He would be a number two behind Boris Alexandrov.

Totally forgot about him...

 

[Pominville Knows]

Developed in the Ukraine though.

I guess his name is ukrainian too? Obviously many of the players that opted to play for Russia but was born in one of the other countries were ethnically russian. Not all though.

And Boris Alexandrov then? That name sound russian and i see on Kazakhstans roster that the names generally perhaps sounds russian but i sence there is some apects to many of them that makes them kasakh. Take Koreshkov, Pchelyakov and Koledayev for example, they do not seem russian to me. Was Alexandrov ethnically russian?

 

[ozo]

Take Koreshkov, Pchelyakov and Koledayev for example, they do not seem russian to me. Was Alexandrov ethnically russian?

Well you are very wrong. All those players you listed and 99.9% of remaining current and past Kazakh hockey players are ethnic Russians.

There are only handful of note worthy exceptions, like Talgat Zhailauov, Galym Mambetaliyev, Yesirkenov brothers and maybe couple more specimens I can't recall right now.

 

[Sanf]

From the early days of Soviet hockey there was goalie Grigory Mkrtychan. He was born in Russia but had Armenian parents. Same time period there was Estonian goalkeeper Karl Liiv playing in Dynamo Moscow. He was considered one of the best in Soviet but I don´t believe that he played ever in National team.

 

[ozo]

Well there was Estonian Tiit Lambin playing for Dinamo Riga in late seventies and early eighties as well. Not very sure but Estonians, or maybe a better term would Narva-born players weren't exactly unicorns by my understanding in the early nineties.

 

[Pominville Knows]

Yeah well the reason i ask about ethnicity is becouse some dude a while back was talking about how not the least russians got positioned in satellite states for working reasons, or even worse in some cases, to outnumber the locals. He meant that this is the reason that many ethnic russians choose to play for Russia after the split up, but some probably did it the other way around too, to be able to play for a good team(Kasparaitis?).

When talking about pre-iron wall it does get a bit hard to know which team ethnic russians in satellite states would have chosen to play for had they had the chance. If they where to be considered for example Kasakh?

 

[TheNomad]

 

[Uncle Rotter]

Harry Mellups was a great goalie from Latvia who died in a plane crash in 1950. Also a top soccer player.

 

[Sanf]

Well there was Estonian Tiit Lambin playing for Dinamo Riga in late seventies and early eighties as well. Not very sure but Estonians, or maybe a better term would Narva-born players weren't exactly unicorns by my understanding in the early nineties.

Yeah there were many Estonians coming to play to Finnish lower divisions (couple played even in sm-liiga) in early 90´s. Atleast Eduard Valiulin and Mihail Korsunov had played in Soviet league. Most of them had Russian roots. Toivo Suursoo was the most notable exception.

Yeah well the reason i ask about ethnicity is becouse some dude a while back was talking about how not the least russians got positioned in satellite states for working reasons, or even worse in some cases, to outnumber the locals. He meant that this is the reason that many ethnic russians choose to play for Russia after the split up, but some probably did it the other way around too, to be able to play for a good team(Kasparaitis?).

When talking about pre-iron wall it does get a bit hard to know which team ethnic russians in satellite states would have chosen to play for had they had the chance. If they where to be considered for example Kasakh?

I guess there is good chance that Boris Alexandrov had played for Kazakhstan. He was only 27 (in 82-83 season) when he went back to his hometown to help Kazzink-Torpedo. He dominated the Soviet first division and helped them to get promoted to the Soviet league for the first time in 86-87 season. He had still some miles left and was one of the best players in Soviet league that season. So it seems that it was more important to Alexandrov to help his hometown team than to play for Soviet League. Also he made brief comeback in mid 90´s and played for Kazakhstan in WHC lower divisions. So in this light I don´t think that it´s that far fetched to say that he might have been keen to play in Kazakhstan national team even earlier if had chance.

 

[ozo]

So in this light I don´t think that it´s that far fetched to say that he might have been keen to play in Kazakhstan national team even earlier if had chance.

If he would be good enough, it's pretty safe to say that he would play for Russian team and not Kazakh.

 

[Sanf]

If he would be good enough, it's pretty safe to say that he would play for Russian team and not Kazakh.

You are probably right.

Did some more research and it did seem that he had some conflicts with coaches and some injury problems and those were some of the reasons why he went back to Kazakhstan. Also Kazzink Torpedo seemed to be quite wealthy club so one more reason to Alexandrov to play there. So likely not just home region love.

 

[ozo]

You are probably right.

Did some more research and it did seem that he had some conflicts with coaches and some injury problems and those were some of the reasons why he went back to Kazakhstan. Also Kazzink Torpedo seemed to be quite wealthy club so one more reason to Alexandrov to play there. So likely not just home region love.

Not sure about that you aren't talking his son Viktor, but Ust-Kamenogorsk was never particularly rich city.

 

[Sanf]

Not sure about that you aren't talking his son Viktor, but Ust-Kamenogorsk was never particularly rich city.

I can definitely say that I´m not expert on this matter but here is what I did find from Igor Kuznetzsov interview. He played big part of his career in Torpedo.

With Google translator from
http://sports.kz/news/igor-kuznetsov-bolshe-nas-v-soyuze-nikto-ne-zarabatyival

- I can confidently say that in respect of the salary of Ust-Kamenogorsk was at that time not in last place. Paid very well to the whole team. A leading players - very good. We have received a thousand rubles - unreal money. The Union then received a salary of one if at all someone is getting. The highest rate of the player and the first league was 200-250 rubles, the military still pay extra for an asterisk. We Boris (Aleksandrovym. - Ed.) Was prepared by twelve hundred, then another Lokotko Volodya came ... And besides wages, again, there were prizes for each winning a match. I talked with the guys - no one in the Soviet Union had not seen that kind of money.

 

[ozo]

I can definitely say that I´m not expert on this matter but here is what I did find from Igor Kuznetzsov interview. He played big part of his career in Torpedo.

With Google translator from
http://sports.kz/news/igor-kuznetsov-bolshe-nas-v-soyuze-nikto-ne-zarabatyival

Nice find, but from what I know the total salary was very impressive for every top level sports team at that time.

 

[Sokil]

After CCCP collapsed he opted to play for Russia, so he can't be counted as "Ukrainian". Best Ukrainian (statistically in NHL) is Dmitri Khristich.

For Kazakhstan my choice would be E.Koreshkov over Antropov.

So? That's a career move. He's a Ukrainian citizen, involved in Ukrainian hockey even today, and he represented Ukraine for the World-vs-North America all star games.

 

[TheNomad]

Gocha Jeiranashvili for Georgia?

http://eurohockey.com/player/128175-gocha-jeiranashvili.html
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=221164

Eurohockey and Eliteprospects differ some on his stats, but he was the Georgian league top scorer and scored the first (and only) goal for Georgia in an IIHF event.

https://twitter.com/IIHFHockey/status/258598543751790592

 

[jekoh]

Gocha Jeiranashvili for Georgia?

http://eurohockey.com/player/128175-gocha-jeiranashvili.html
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=221164

Eurohockey and Eliteprospects differ some on his stats, but he was the Georgian league top scorer and scored the first (and only) goal for Georgia in an IIHF event.

He does not appear to have played professional hockey, let alone played for the Soviet national team

 

[ozo]

He does not appear to have played professional hockey, let alone played for the Soviet national team

To be fair opening post isn't very strict about the rules of this thread. Antropov, Zubrus also have nothing to do with Soviet Union national teams.

 

[jekoh]

To be fair opening post isn't very strict about the rules of this thread. Antropov, Zubrus also have nothing to do with Soviet Union national teams.

But they have played professional hockey.

 

[ozo]

But they have played professional hockey.

I won't argue with that, our Georgian friend fails spectacularly in that category.

Anyway just for fun here are couple of professional players born in Uzbekistan - Alexander Klimov and more notably Sergei Alexandrov. Last one retired just this summer and for obvious reasons will go down in folklore of Ust-Kamenogorsk's hockey. Actually Klimov is a pretty iconic player in city of Barnaul as well and actually started playing his hockey in capital of nowadays Uzbekistan in eighties. He now coaches youth teams in Barnaul as far as I know.

 

[TheNomad]

But they have played professional hockey.

He played in the Georgian League in 2012-13. What he did before then, who knows? He's certainly old enough to have played for the Soviet Union being 44 years old and presumably had some training in a Soviet hockey school. Really though, what other options are there for Georgia?